a |
1. art. One; any indefinite example of; used to denote a singular item of a group. | |
There was a man here looking for you yesterday. | |
2. art. Used in conjunction with the adjectives score, dozen, hundred, thousand, and million, as a function word. | |
I've seen it happen a hundred times. | |
3. art. One certain or particular; any single.Brown, Lesley, (2003) | |
We've received an interesting letter from a Mrs. Miggins of London. | |
4. art. The same; one. | |
We are of a mind on matters of morals. | |
5. art. Any, every; used before a noun which has become modified to limit its scope; also used with a negative to indicate not a single one.Lindberg, Christine A. (2007) | |
A man who dies intestate leaves his children troubles and difficulties. | |
He fell all that way, and hasn't a bump on his head? | |
6. art. Used before plural nouns modified by few, good many, couple, great many, etc. | |
7. art. Someone or something like; similar to; Used before a proper noun to create an example out of it. | |
The center of the village was becoming a Times Square. | |
8. prep. (archaic) To do with position or direction; In, on, at, by, towards, onto. | |
Stand a tiptoe. | |
9. prep. To do with separation; In, into. | |
Torn a pieces. | |
10. prep. To do with time; Each, per, in, on, by. | |
I brush my teeth twice a day. | |
11. prep. (obsolete) To do with method; In, with. | |
12. prep. (obsolete) To do with role or capacity; In. | |
A God’s name. | |
13. prep. To do with status; In. | |
King James Bible (II Chronicles 2:18) | |
To set the people a worke. | |
14. prep. (archaic) To do with process, with a passive verb; In the course of, experiencing. | |
1964, Bob Dylan, The Times They Are a-Changin’ | |
The times, they are a-changin'. | |
15. prep. (archaic) To do with an action, an active verb; Engaged in. | |
1611, King James Bible, Hebrews 11-21 | |
Jacob, when he was a dying | |
16. prep. (archaic) To do with an action/movement; To, into. | |
17. v. (archaic, or slang) Have. | |
I'd a come, if you'd a asked. | |
18. pron. (obsolete, outside, England, and Scotland dialects) He. | |
19. interj. A meaningless syllable; ah. | |
20. prep. (archaic, slang) Of. | |
The name of John a Gaunt. | |
21. adv. (chiefly Scotland) All. | |
22. adj. (chiefly Scotland) All. | |
twisting |
1. v. present participle of twist | |
2. n. gerund of twist | |
3. adj. Having many twists | |
The mountain road is even more twisting than the valley road. | |
twist |
1. n. A twisting force. | |
2. n. Anything twisted, or the act of twisting. | |
3. n. The form given in twisting. | |
4. n. The degree of stress or strain when twisted. | |
5. n. A type of thread made from two filaments twisted together. | |
6. n. A sliver of lemon peel added to a cocktail, etc. | |
7. n. A sudden bend (or short series of bends) in a road, path, etc. | |
8. n. A distortion to the meaning of a word or passage. | |
9. n. (authorship) An unexpected turn in a story, tale, etc. | |
10. n. A type of dance characterised by rotating one’s hips. See Wikipedia:Twist (dance) | |
11. n. A rotation of the body when diving. | |
12. n. A sprain, especially to the ankle. | |
13. n. (obsolete) A twig. | |
14. n. (slang) A girl, a woman. | |
15. n. (obsolete) A roll of twisted dough, baked. | |
16. n. A material for gun barrels, consisting of iron and steel twisted and welded together. | |
Damascus twist | |
17. n. The spiral course of the rifling of a gun barrel or a cannon. | |
18. n. (obsolete, slang) A beverage made of brandy and gin. | |
19. n. A strong individual tendency or bent; inclination. | |
a twist toward fanaticism | |
20. v. To turn the ends of something, usually thread, rope etc., in opposite directions, often using force. | |
21. v. To join together by twining one part around another. | |
22. v. To contort; to writhe; to complicate; to crook spirally; to convolve. | |
23. v. To wreathe; to wind; to encircle; to unite by intertexture of parts. | |
24. v. (reflexive) To wind into; to insinuate. | |
Avarice twists itself into all human concerns. | |
25. v. To turn a knob etc. | |
26. v. To distort or change the truth or meaning of words when repeating. | |
27. v. To form a twist (in any of the above noun meanings). | |
28. v. To injure (a body part) by bending it in the wrong direction. | |
29. v. (intransitive, of a path) To wind; to follow a bendy or wavy course; to have many bends. | |
30. v. To cause to rotate. | |
31. v. (intransitive) To dance the twist (a type of dance characterised by twisting one's hips). | |
32. v. To coax. | |
33. v. (card games) In the game of blackjack (pontoon or twenty-one), to be dealt another card. | |
snakelike |
1. adj. Resembling a snake; long, thin and flexible, or waving about in a snake-like manner; snaky. | |
2. adj. Characteristic of a snake. | |
a snakelike forked tongue | |
movement |
1. n. Physical motion between points in space. | |
I saw a movement in that grass on the hill. | |
2. n. (engineering) A system or mechanism for transmitting motion of a definite character, or for transforming motion, such as the wheelwork of a watch. | |
3. n. The impression of motion in an artwork, painting, novel etc. | |
4. n. A trend in various fields or social categories, a group of people with a common ideology who try together to achieve certain general goals | |
The labor movement has been struggling in America since the passage of the Taft-Hartley act in 1947. | |
5. n. (music) A large division of a larger composition. | |
6. n. (aviation) An instance of an aircraft taking off or landing. | |
Albuquerque International Sunport serviced over 200,000 movements last year. | |
7. n. (baseball) The deviation of a pitch from ballistic flight. | |
The movement on his cutter was devastating. | |
8. n. An act of emptying the bowels. | |
9. n. (obsolete) Motion of the mind or feelings; emotion. | |
of |
1. prep. Expressing distance or motion. | |
2. prep. (now obsolete, or dialectal) From (of distance, direction), "off". | |
3. prep. (obsolete except in phrases) Since, from (a given time, earlier state etc.). | |
4. prep. From, away from (a position, number, distance etc.). | |
There are no shops within twenty miles of the cottage. | |
5. prep. (North America, Scotland, Ireland) Before (the hour); to. | |
What's the time? / Nearly a quarter of three. | |
6. prep. Expressing separation. | |
7. prep. (Indicating removal, absence or separation, with the action indicated by a transitive verb and the quality or substance by a grammatical object.) | |
Finally she was relieved of the burden of caring for her sick husband. | |
8. prep. (Indicating removal, absence or separation, with resulting state indicated by an adjective.) | |
He seemed devoid of human feelings. | |
9. prep. (obsolete) (Indicating removal, absence or separation, construed with an intransitive verb.) | |
10. prep. Expressing origin. | |
11. prep. (Indicating an ancestral source or origin of descent.) | |
The word is believed to be of Japanese origin. | |
12. prep. (Indicating a (non-physical) source of action or emotion; introducing a cause, instigation); from, out of, as an expression of. | |
The invention was born of necessity. | |
13. prep. (following an intransitive verb) (Indicates the source or cause of the verb.) | |
It is said that she died of a broken heart. | |
14. prep. (following an adjective) (Indicates the subject or cause of the adjective.) | |
I am tired of all this nonsense. | |
15. prep. Expressing agency. | |
16. prep. (following a passive verb) (Indicates the agent (for most verbs, now usually expressed with by).) | |
I am not particularly enamoured of this idea. | |
17. prep. (Used to introduce the "subjective genitive"; following a noun to form the head of a postmodifying noun phrase) (see also 'Possession' senses below). | |
The contract can be terminated at any time with the agreement of both parties. | |
18. prep. (following an adjective) (Used to indicate the agent of something described by the adjective.) | |
It was very brave of you to speak out like that. | |
19. prep. Expressing composition, substance. | |
20. prep. (after a verb expressing construction, making etc.) (Used to indicate the material or substance used.) | |
Many 'corks' are now actually made of plastic. | |
21. prep. (directly following a noun) (Used to indicate the material of the just-mentioned object.) | |
She wore a dress of silk. | |
22. prep. (Indicating the composition of a given collective or quantitative noun.) | |
What a lot of nonsense! | |
23. prep. (Used to link a given class of things with a specific example of that class.) | |
Welcome to the historic town of Harwich. | |
24. prep. (Links two nouns in near-apposition, with the first qualifying the second); "which is also". | |
I'm not driving this wreck of a car. | |
25. prep. Introducing subject matter. | |
26. prep. (Links an intransitive verb, or a transitive verb and its subject (especially verbs to do with thinking, feeling, expressing etc.), with its subject-ma | |
I'm always thinking of you. | |
27. prep. (following a noun (now chiefly nouns of knowledge, communication etc.)) (Introduces its subject matter); about, concerning. | |
He told us the story of his journey to India. | |
28. prep. (following an adjective) (Introduces its subject matter.) | |
This behaviour is typical of teenagers. | |
29. prep. Having partitive effect. | |
30. prep. (following a number or other quantitive word) (Introduces the whole for which is indicated only the specified part or segment); "from among". | |
Most of these apples are rotten. | |
31. prep. (following a noun) (Indicates a given part.) | |
32. prep. (now archaic, literary, with preceding partitive word assumed, or as a predicate after to be) Some, an amount of, one of. | |
On the whole, they seem to be of the decent sort. | |
33. prep. (Links to a genitive noun or possessive pronoun, with partitive effect (though now often merged with possessive senses, below).) | |
He is a friend of mine. | |
34. prep. Expressing possession. | |
35. prep. Belonging to, existing in, or taking place in a given location, place or time. Compare "origin" senses, above. | |
He was perhaps the most famous scientist of the twentieth century. | |
36. prep. Belonging to (a place) through having title, ownership or control over it. | |
The owner of the nightclub was arrested. | |
37. prep. Belonging to (someone or something) as something they possess or have as a characteristic; (the "possessive genitive". (With abstract nouns, this inter | |
Keep the handle of the saucepan away from the flames. | |
38. prep. Forming the "objective genitive". | |
39. prep. (Follows an agent noun, verbal noun or noun of action.) | |
She had a profound distrust of the police. | |
40. prep. Expressing qualities or characteristics. | |
41. prep. (now archaic, or literary) (Links an adjective with a noun or noun phrase to form a quasi-adverbial qualifier); in respect to, as regards. | |
My companion seemed affable and easy of manner. | |
42. prep. (Indicates a quality or characteristic); "characterized by". | |
Pooh was said to be a bear of very little brain. | |
43. prep. (Indicates quantity, age, price, etc.) | |
We have been paying interest at a rate of 10%. | |
44. prep. (US, informal considered incorrect by some) (Used to link singular indefinite nouns (preceded by the indefinite article) and attributive adjectives mod | |
It's not that big of a deal. | |
45. prep. Expressing a point in time. | |
46. prep. (chiefly regional) During the course of (a set period of time, day of the week etc.), now specifically with implied repetition or regularity. | |
Of an evening, we would often go for a stroll along the river. | |
47. prep. (UK dialectal, chiefly in negative constructions) For (a given length of time). | |
I've not tekken her out of a goodly long while. | |
48. prep. (after a noun) (Indicates duration of a state, activity etc.) | |
After a delay of three hours, the plane finally took off. | |
the |
1. art. Definite grammatical article that implies necessarily that an entity it articulates is presupposed; something already mentioned, or completely specified later in that same sentence, or assumed already | |
I’m reading the book. (Compare I’m reading a book.) | |
The street in front of your house. (Compare A street in Paris.) | |
The men and women watched the man give the birdseed to the bird. | |
2. art. Used before a noun modified by a restrictive relative clause, indicating that the noun refers to a single referent defined by the relative clause. | |
The street that runs through my hometown. | |
3. art. Used before an object considered to be unique, or of which there is only one at a time. | |
No one knows how many galaxies there are in the universe. | |
God save the Queen! | |
4. art. Used before a superlative or an ordinal number modifying a noun, to indicate that the noun refers to a single item. | |
That was the best apple pie ever. | |
5. art. Added to a superlative or an ordinal number to make it into a substantive. | |
That apple pie was the best. | |
6. art. Introducing a singular term to be taken generically: preceding a name of something standing for a whole class. | |
7. art. Used before an adjective, indicating all things (especially persons) described by that adjective. | |
Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, comfort the afflicted, and afflict the comfortable. | |
8. art. Used to indicate a certain example of (a noun) which is usually of most concern or most common or familiar. | |
No one in the whole country had seen it before. | |
I don't think I'll get to it until the morning. | |
9. art. Used before a body part (especially of someone previously mentioned), as an alternative to a possessive pronoun. | |
A stone hit him on the head. (= “A stone hit him on his head.”) | |
10. art. When stressed, indicates that it describes an object which is considered to be best or exclusively worthy of attention. | |
That is the hospital to go to for heart surgery. | |
11. adv. 1=With a comparative ormore and a verb phrase, establishes a parallel with one or more other such comparatives. | |
The hotter the better. | |
The more I think about it, the weaker it looks. | |
The more money donated, the more books purchased, and the more happy children. | |
It looks weaker and weaker, the more I think about it. | |
12. adv. 1=With a comparative, and often withfor it, indicates a result more like said comparative. This can be negated withnone. | |
It was a difficult time, but I’m the wiser for it. | |
It was a difficult time, and I’m none the wiser for it. | |
I'm much the wiser for having had a difficult time like that. | |
body |
1. n. Physical frame. | |
2. n. The physical structure of a human or animal seen as one single organism. | |
I saw them walking from a distance, their bodies strangely angular in the dawn light. | |
3. n. The fleshly or corporeal nature of a human, as opposed to the spirit or soul. | |
The body is driven by desires, but the soul is at peace. | |
4. n. A corpse. | |
Her body was found at four o'clock, just two hours after the murder. | |
5. n. (archaic, or informal except in compounds) A person. | |
What's a body gotta do to get a drink around here? | |
6. n. Main section. | |
7. n. The torso, the main structure of a human or animal frame excluding the extremities (limbs, head, tail). | |
The boxer took a blow to the body. | |
8. n. The largest or most important part of anything, as distinct from its appendages or accessories. | |
The bumpers and front tyres were ruined, but the body of the car was in remarkable shape. | |
9. n. (archaic) The section of a dress extending from the neck to the waist, excluding the arms. | |
Penny was in the scullery, pressing the body of her new dress. | |
10. n. The content of a letter, message, or other printed or electronic document, as distinct from signatures, salutations, headers, and so on. | |
11. n. (programming) The code of a subroutine, contrasted to its signature and parameters. | |
In many programming languages, the method body is enclosed in braces. | |
12. n. Coherent group. | |
13. n. A group of people having a common purpose or opinion; a mass. | |
I was escorted from the building by a body of armed security guards. | |
14. n. An organisation, company or other authoritative group. | |
The local train operating company is the managing body for this section of track. | |
15. n. A unified collection of details, knowledge or information. | |
We have now amassed a body of evidence which points to one conclusion. | |
16. n. Material entity. | |
17. n. Any physical object or material thing. | |
All bodies are held together by internal forces. | |
18. n. Substance; physical presence. | |
We have given body to what was just a vague idea. | |
19. n. Comparative viscosity, solidity or substance (in wine, colours etc.). | |
The red wine, sadly, lacked body. | |
20. n. An agglomeration of some substance, especially one that would be otherwise un. | |
The English Channel is a body of water lying between Great Britain and France. | |
21. n. (printing) The shank of a type, or the depth of the shank (by which the size is indicated). | |
a nonpareil face on an agate body | |
22. n. (geometry) A three-dimensional object, such as a cube or cone. | |
23. v. To give body or shape to something. | |
24. v. To construct the bodywork of a car. | |
25. v. To embody. | |
26. v. (transitive, slang) To murder someone. | |
27. v. (transitive, slang) To utterly defeat someone. | |
28. v. (transitive, slang) to hard counter a particular character build or play style. Frequently used in the passive voice form, get bodied by. | |